Southwood Lutheran Church: Sweet Sweet Spirit

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. (Matthew 3:16 NIV)

Noted recording artist, music arranger, and director Doris Akers was born in Brookfield, Missouri, and started writing songs at age ten. Many of her more than three hundred songs are found in many songbooks and hymnals and have been sung by millions of worshipers. In addition to songwriting, Doris also directed the Skypilot Choir of Skypilot Church in Los Angeles.

One Sunday morning, Doris said to her choir, “You are not ready to go in.” She didn’t believe they had prayed enough! They were accustomed to spending time in prayer before the service, asking God to bless their songs. Doris had communicated to her choir that prayer was much more important than great voices. Although the choir members had already prayed this particular morning she asked them to pray again, and they did so with renewed fervor.

As the choir members continued to pray, Doris began to wonder how she could stop this wonderful prayer meeting. Finally she was compelled to say to the choir, “We have to go. I hate to leave this room and I know you hate to leave, but you know we do have to go to the service. But there is such a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place.” The next morning she went to the piano and began to write, “There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place.” In her song she recognized the “Spirit” in the room as the “Spirit of the Lord.” She could see in the “sweet expressions” of the choir members that they also recognized the “presence of the Lord.” The chorus of the song calls us back to the New Testament’s description of the Spirit of God descending like a dove, lighting upon Jesus at His baptism (Matt. 3:16).

Doris Akers passed away in 1995, but her songs will live on in the hearts of those of us who have sung them and have learned to love the God she wrote about. Until her last day on earth, Doris strongly believed that god wants His children to pray. From The Sacrifice of Praise; by Lindsay Terry.

There's a sweet, sweet spirit in this place And I know that it's the spirit of the Lord
There are sweet expressions on each face
And I know that it's the presence of the Lord

Sweet Holy Spirit
Sweet heavenly dove
Stay right here with us
Filling us with your love
And for these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise (hearts in praise)
Without a doubt we'll know that we have been revived
When we shall leave this place

Denise